SerpApi.Org
A large underground structure dating back around 2,600 years has been detected beneath the ancient Egyptian city of Buto in the Nile Delta. Preliminary excavations have uncovered mudbrick walls and religious artifacts, strengthening the possibility that the hidden building was a temple from Egypt’s 26th Dynasty.
The discovery was made at Tell el-Fara’in, better known as Buto, the remains of an ancient city that flourished about 5,600 years ago during Egypt’s Predynastic period. The settlement experienced repeated phases of destruction and reconstruction, while centuries of accumulated mud and soil eventually buried some of its oldest remains.
This complicated archaeological landscape led researchers to combine satellite radar imagery with electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), a technique capable of detecting variations between materials below ground. Their objective was to locate buried structures and identify suitable areas for excavation without immediately digging across large sections of the site.
Large Structure Found Six Meters Underground
Researchers first examined Sentinel-1 C-band satellite imagery captured on May 5, 2018, processing the data with SNAP software version 9.0.0. The team reports that the images were used to identify large-scale anomalies that could indicate the presence of buried structures.
The detected anomalies then guided the placement of ERT profiles. This technology uses electrical currents introduced into the ground to measure differences in conductivity and resistance between underground materials, allowing researchers to construct three-dimensional representations of subsurface features.
Within the upper three meters, scans revealed a distinctive layer that researchers interpreted as broken pottery and debris, probably linked to Roman periods of occupation. Deeper underground, at approximately six meters, the survey detected a considerably larger structure.
Its depth led the researchers to associate it with the Saite period, placing it around 2,600 years ago. The precise nature of the structure remains unknown. A large shrine or tomb was initially considered possible, but evidence uncovered during preliminary excavation pointed toward another interpretation.
Amulets and Walls Point to a Hidden Temple
Archaeologists excavated a limited 10-by-10-meter area, exposing mudbrick walls in locations corresponding with features detected by the scans. They also recovered a collection of objects associated with religious practices.
The study published inApplied Geophysicsreports that a small offering basin and numerous amulets representing Isis, Horus, Taweret, and Wadjet provide further support for the temple hypothesis. The excavation also yielded a bronze amulet with a suspension hole depicting Horus the child.
Other finds included amulets representing a crouching lion and Anubis, fragments of limestone statues described by the researchers as being “in sexual positions,” and a faience plaque decorated with relief carvings of Hathor on both sides.
One artifact stood out: a steatite scarab bearing the name of King Thutmose III, which researchers believe may have functioned as an amulet or seal.
“Collectively, these artefacts indicate the presence of a religious site with strong cultic and ceremonial associations, further reinforcing the interpretation of the structure as a temple from the 26th Dynasty,” noted the researchers.
Another Temple May Be Hidden Nearby
Beyond the archaeological finds themselves, the investigation demonstrated the effectiveness of combining satellite remote sensing with electrical measurements at a site containing multiple occupation phases.
The researchers reported that 3D inversion algorithms were particularly effective in identifying buried mudbrick walls and architectural structures.
“The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of combining geophysical measurements and remote sensing data,” the authors explained, noting that the methods provided “a very accurate vision in detecting buried settlements in a complex region.”
Further ERT surveys have been recommended to investigate deeper occupation levels at Buto. The researchers also identified the possibility of another undiscovered religious structure beneath the site.
“Our findings suggest that, in addition to the known temple, another temple may remain buried under a thick clay layer,” they added.
Future measurements could reveal more about the full extent and nature of the buried structure. At this stage, however, evidence recovered from the small excavation area points to its possible identification as an ancient temple.
